A Slip of the Tongue
by jess5229
Summary: Mia and Michael have finally gotten together, but will their love stand the tests that follow? Please R&R!
1. Is it a Dare?

Mia POV:

I rang the doorbell at Lily's house. Ring Geez I was in so much trouble. Why did I have to be late tonight? When I promised Lily for the 100th time that I would not be? And just my luck; Guess who opened the door? Michael. With his shirt off. Why does he have to torture me? God those brown eyes make me melt. Anyway so the conversation went something like this.

Michael: Hey Thermopolis

Me: "Hey" I said looking awkward; as usual.

Michael: You over to see Lily?

Me: Yeah I guess

Michael: Yeah Okay come on in

God I am such a freak! Why can't I say anything intelligent in front of him?? "Yeah I guess" What kind of answer is that?!? Uggh...

Michael POV:

So maybe Lily told me Mia was coming over... And maybe, just MAYBE I took my shirt off on purpose when the doorbell rang because I knew Mia would be there. But those are just maybes...

Geez... Goddamit! Maybe I did it just because I like her! There I said it!

Okay fine! You got me. Maybe I did it because I L-O-V-E love her. But she doesn't have to know. Anyway it's not like she pays any attention to me as you can tell from the conversation we just had.

Me: Hey Thermopolis

Mia: "Hey" She says looking real awkward and I think oh great I knew it; her face reads "whatever" in as bold letters as you can get.

Michael: "You over here to see Lily?" God what a stupid question.

Mia: "Yeah I guess." And she obviously thought so too. I mean why else would she be here?

Michael: "Yeah, okay come on in." And a stupid answer to go with a stupid question. What a day Moscovitz! You sure know how to rake in the stupid points. And today's lucky winner of how stupid do you get is..... Michael Moscovitz!

And then of course Lily comes in.

"Put some clothes on freak! My friends don't like to see you prancing around the house half naked!!" Great. I guess that truly is how Mia feels.

Mia POV:

And of course to add to it Lily comes in and embarrasses me. She calls Michael a freak and tells him her friends hate to see him half naked. God why me?

Anyway so when we got to Lily's room I decided to give her a piece of me. I mean no-one calls Michael a freak! I mean he is so damn hot!

"Hey Lil, I don't think that was very nice of you to call Michael a freak."

"Oh really and what would you have done? Huh? HUH?? Because if you had any idea what I said in there you would realize that I had the right side! I mean do YOU like to see my brother walking around half naked? I mean who does?!"

And that's when I started to get my courage up. I don't know why I did it, but it was just one of those moments.

"Well you know what? I happen to think that Michael looks sexy without a shirt on. And you know what? I happen to like him walking around the apartment half naked. And you know why?" And then I lost my confidence. Boom Bam Kazang. It was gone. Right in the middle of one of the most courageous speeches I have made in my life.

And Lily just stared at me. It was one of those kinds of stares that make you feel awkward down to the bone. That kind of shocked slash I don't know what look. And then she seemed to find the confidence that had drifted away from me and pulled out of the tacit staring contest we were engaged in.

She whispered, "Why Mia?" And she kind of had a gentle tone; you know? Not like the tone that she usually uses with me. But she might have also been using that tone because by then I had sort of crouched on the floor and started sobbing in to my knees. I had made a fool of myself. And now look who was going to pay.

And then the confidence shoved back into my body and between muffled sobs I managed to thrust out a mangled, "Because I love him."

And that's when she pulled me up! She pulled me straight off the floor and started opening the door to her room. She dragged me out of her room and we started walking/dragging down the hall. And I knew where she was headed. And I didn't like it one bit, not one bit at all.

And with a mangled cry I whispered, "No Lily! Please!"

And the only reply I got was, "No way Jose Mia. You are going to his room and you are going now and you are going to go in there and tell him what you just told me." I surrendered to her will, I mean what would you do if Lily Moscovitz commanded you like that?

When we reached the door, I froze. I could hear the soft, melodic strumming of an instrument of some kind. I was scared stiff. And then Lily knocked. The melodic noise stopped and I heard footsteps near the door. Michael opened it; his deep brown eyes gazing at us in curiosity and his hair flopped in a cute but messy way over them.

"Wow Lily that's a first: knocking."

"Yeah well I decided once to be thoughtful of your privacy." Lily said in a sarcastic voice. "Anyway Mia has something she wants to tell you." And then she shoved me inside his room and closed the door behind me. Michael stared at me with a mixture of shock and curiosity.

"So...." He casually said. And then it all blurted out. I don't know how it just came out like that but for some reason I just told him everything about the way I felt about him. About the way his brown eyes stared at you with depths unknown to man and his hair flopped in the perfect way and how he looked great shirtless. And then I said it, "And I kind of was shoved into here to tell you about how you looked great shirtless and I thought that because I love you." And then the confidence left. I tried to escape through the door but of course Lily was waiting there and she shoved me straight back in so I opted to just slide down the door, put my hands around my knees, bury my face in my them and sob; quietly as I could of course. I mean I wouldn't want Michael to see me like this. And for a horrible moment I thought he wouldn't do anything. I thought he would just go back to the computer and not care at all about everything I had just revealed.

Michael POV:

Holy shit. She did not just say what she just said. I mean when Lily first shoved her in here I thought oh God not another truth or dare thing that I had to be the victim of. But now look. I stood frozen like a deer in headlights. I watched her try to escape only to be shoved straight back in by Lily and then sink slowly to the floor and bury her face in her knees and start to silently sob. It broke my heart but for a moment I just stood there.

Mia:

I was getting kind of worried and just as I was about to make a second attempt to escape I heard the swish of fabric as Michael bent down; or at least that's what it sounded like so I just decided to wait for the bomb. I mean who likes a freakish, flat-chested, abnormally tall princess? It just doesn't happen. So as I was preparing myself for the escape line I would use to get past Lily which would consist of something like "He hates me" and shove past her, I felt cool but comforting hands raise my head from my lap. I kept my eyes closed; living in fear of rejection.

"Mia, I-"And then it happened. He kissed me. And I can tell you this; it was the shock of my life! I was so excited! I mean he kissed me! And this was any ordinary kiss, this was a REAL kiss. Damn he's a good kisser. And then a wave of anxiety rushed over me. Was he just joking with me? Oh God. Look what I had gotten myself into. So I open my eyes like deer in front of headlights and there he is with his deep brown eyes and I just ran. I ran out of the room, shoved past Lily, and ran straight down the hall looking for a safe haven.

Michael:

Well. After I had frozen in place for a minute and left Mia crying on the floor, I knelt down in front of her. I lifted her head up from her knees, but she didn't open her eyes though I could see her eyes were red and puffy and there were tear streaks down her cheeks. I was too overwhelmed with all the information so all the words that came out were "Mia, I-"And then I just kissed her because I couldn't think of anything else to say. And the great thing about it was is that she kissed me back! But then all of a sudden she just raced out of the room, shoved past lily and ran I don't know where. Why did she do that? I thought she said she loved me? Or maybe that was a joke... No it couldn't have been; I mean she said all these things about me that really sounded like she had thought about them for a long, long time. So I too rushed out of the room to find her only to come face to face with Lily. And she had one of those looks on her face.


	2. He's Fine

Previous chapter:

_But then all of a sudden she just raced out of the room, shoved past lily and ran I don't know where. Why did she do that? I thought she said she loved me? Or maybe that was a joke... No it couldn't have been; I mean she said all these things about me that really sounded like she had thought about them for a long, long time. So I too rushed out of the room to find her only to come face to face with Lily. And she had one of those looks on her face._

Michael:

"What did you do to her Michael? Huh? HUH?? I just had her come in here, confess her love to you, and you didn't do anything?

"Lily, but-"

"No buts mister. What did you do to her?"

"GODDAMIT LILY! I KISSED HER OKAY? IS IT SO WRONG TO DO THAT TO THE PERSON YOU LOVE?" Whoa, where did THAT come from? I don't think I've ever been that forward with Lily in a long time.

Lily stared at me and then her face broke into a frown. "Then why did she run away?"

"I have no IDEA! You should be the one that knows! I practically told her I loved her without using words! YOU tell ME why she ran away! Maybe you were playing a joke on me or something! Well if you were it SURE wasn't funny." Wow. When did I ever become this emotional? Lily just stood there. In a softer town she said,

"Michael, she loves you; that's why I told her to go into your room. When I shouted at you and called you a freak and told you that we hated seeing you walk around half naked, Mia stood up for you and she went a little too far and told me she loved you." So it was true that she loves me? Oh shit what did I do so wrong to make her run away if she loves me?

"Oh shit. What did I do wrong? I'm going to find her."

And surprisingly Lily just let me go. She didn't move to follow me or anything. But as I turned around I realized why.

Mia:

Unfortunately I didn't get very far with my escape plan. I sort of went into the supply closet down the hall so I overheard an unusual conversation.

I heard Lily shouting something at Michael and then I heard him shout,

"GODDAMIT LILY! I KISSED HER, OKAY? IS IT SO WRONG TO DO THAT TO THE PERSON YOU LOVE?" Omg! He really does love me! But- oh shit. Crap. Why did I run away? And then I heard faintly Lily say,

"Then why did she run away?"

And Michael seemed really frustrated and sad as he said,

"I have no IDEA! You should be the one that knows! I practically told her I loved her without using words! YOU tell ME why she ran away! Maybe you were playing a joke on me or something! Well if you were it SURE wasn't funny."

He said the L word again! I needed to do something and do it now. And so slowly I started getting up from my crouched position in the closet and slowly turning the knob as quietly as I could. Lily didn't see me yet, but I heard her explain to him that I loved him. And Lily saw me then as Michael let out a quiet "Oh shit. What did I do wrong? I'm going to find her." And Lily didn't move. And then he turned around.

Michael:

I turned around to see a frazzled Mia with red streaks down her cheeks. She was softly smiling at me. I was completely shocked. Had she heard everything I had just said to Lily?

"Mia, I need to tell you something. I kind of lo-"

And then I got the shock of my life. She pulled my head towards her and she kissed me straight on the lips. And it wasn't just an ordinary kiss. It had so much passion behind it I was nearly knocked over at first but then I kissed her back with everything I had been holding inside for months, even years. I could have sworn it felt like it lasted forever and I wasn't about to let it end. She must have heard what I said to Lily. I swear I think I just found heaven.

Mia:

As he turned around I came face to face with sad, deep, brown eyes slightly shadowed with his thick hair. He looked worn and slightly depressed. They immediately widened in surprise and shock to see me standing there or at least that's what I guessed it was from. And then he started to explain but I had all the explaining I needed from the conversation I had just heard. I just pulled his head down and kissed him with everything I had. He seemed shocked at first and I was nervous but then he returned it with the same passion. Damn he's a heavenly kisser. Damn he's fine.


	3. Cloud Nine

Mia POV:

We just kept kissing, floating on cloud nine, until we were rudely interrupted by the coughing of Lily.

"Ok you guys its great that you guys are together now, but could you please GET A ROOM?"

Out of breath Michael came to our defense, "Geez Lily, chillax." And then he turned to me and whispered in a suggestive tone, "My room?", and gave me a wink.

I blushed and held his hand as he dragged me down the corridor and around to his room. We entered, the floor strewn with pieces of paper with music notes all over them, some although were just writing. As he hastily tried to pick all of them up, I spotted one and gently picked it up. He came past me and saw that I was reading something. He slowly stood up and blushed. I read the paper, not believing my eyes.

_May 22- 4:15_

_I just had an intense tutoring lesson with Mia. Man I don't know how I handle those things without kissing her at least once. I try to show in her in all possible ways that I love her, but she just doesn't seem to understand. I gently rub my knees against hers. My hands linger on hers when I take the pencil from her to correct a mistake and I walk around shirtless as often as possible. Does she not recognize me at all? But of course, I forgot. I am seen as the geeky best friend's older brother. Oh well, a guy can always dream, right?_

The rest of the page was filled with similar notes, all expressing the same kind of fondness in relation to me at some point in the entry. I lifted my head up to look at Michael, noticing his face was shaded a deep crimson.

I raised one of my eyebrows suggestively, and his blush got darker. I could see how he felt. I mean if he even knew what I wrote in my journals! Whew! Good thing he didn't have access to that kind of information. I confidently sauntered towards him, noticing his head was bowed in shame. I lifted it saying, "I write the exact same things in my journal." And kissing him hard. **(A/N-Wow Mia's forward, sorry she's a bit out of character. Oh well, let me have my fun ;) !)** He responded with the same force, sliding his arm up my shirt. I wrapped my arms around his neck and slid them into his deep, brown locks. They felt soft and silky in my hands. I felt literal sparks fly between us, but finally we had to come up for air. Michael was breathing heavily, looking at me with loving eyes.

I put my hands on his bare chests and quietly said "I love you" and burying my face into his shoulder. To my surprise and his also, I started silently crying. He pulled my head up, his eyes questioning the tears of, unknown to him, joy that were flowing down my cheeks. I had waited forever for this moment.

"I just love you so much Michael," And he knowingly pulled me in for another kiss. Knowing exactly how I felt because he felt the same way.

Michael POV:

The next few weeks were bliss. We spent every waking moment together. I couldn't bear to be without Mia for longer than a couple of hours. This love had sparked a new kind of me. I was open to PDA and I didn't hold back with Mia. Maybe it was because I loved her so much, or maybe it was because she was so goddamn beautiful, or maybe it was just because she was a great kisser. I didn't know anymore. All I knew was that I couldn't live without her. She was my heartbeat.

We watched movies together. We enjoyed Star Wars, quoting the different lines with the perfection of a couple that might have been together for a couple of years. I beared chick flicks with surprising ease; maybe it was because I was so close to Mia at all times. We watched Beauty and the beast many times, with me continuously laughing at Mia's love for the classic Disney movie. But she knew I didn't mind. We were too in love.

But one night, we decided to go out to see a movie. She picked a love combined with sports movie called Wimbledon. It actually sounded quite interesting and I was extremely excited to spend a night alone with her. Well I was always excited to spend _any_ time with her. We watched Wimbledon, spellbound by the intertwining story of love and tennis, combined as a single unique art. Well maybe I'm being a bit artsy fartsy. But I thought it was very good, well at least for a date with Mia.

We spent the rest of the night in my room, cuddled up next to each other, just enjoying being so close to each other; something that both of us enjoyed. I kissed her often, but most of all I just enjoyed the feeling of her heart beating against mine. But could this endless happiness last forever?

We Mia and I meant to be _together_ forever?

A/N- I finally updated! Wow you should all be so proud. I decided I wanted to expand on this a little, since my other story, The luck of the draw, should be finished soon, and I don't really have any new ideas at the moment. Please review so I can make sure that I have enough people who want to see more of this story, and then I will continue! Will Mia and Michael's bliss last forever? I guess you'll just have to review to find out! ï


	4. Triangles and Theorems

**Mia POV:**

I sat in class staring at the board which, truthfully, produced no meaning or recognition in my mind. I was not at all focused on the board with its mysterious triangles and theorems randomly scribbled as Mr. Gianini attempted to teach the extremely tired class the basics of geometry, even though we had already been in school for over 3 months. It had been a long couple of months, and finally it was time for winter break. I was doodling in my journal, making scribbles that had no significance to me because all I was thinking about was Michael. His soft, silky hair and deep brown eyes- what bliss- ahhhh….. I softly tapped my pencil against my chin, in a world of my own. But I was awakened from my reverie suddenly by a deep voice.

Shocked from my dream-world I frantically searched the room, finding it empty. Class had ended and I had been paying too much attention to my daydreams to even notice it! And then I remembered that there was a person in front of me. Oh man, it was Mr. G.

"Mia are you okay?" He stared at me with confused eyes. Apparently he probably wondered why I was so "eager" to stay in the classroom when we had finally been released from the shackles of school.

"Yeah Mr. G I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking." I quickly covered up my embarrassing daydreams, trying hard to suppress the slight blush that was creeping up my cheeks, but failing miserably.

He gave me a knowing look, and flashed a quick wink and a smirk. Oh god, can he read my mind? Oh well… I don't really care anymore. And then I suddenly remembered- I raced out of my chair- I was supposed to meet Michael in front of my locker as soon as school was over.

I shot out of the chair, clumsily gathering my books, trying to gather my pencils but dropping them in the process, "Oh excuse me Mr. G, but I must go!" I said in my most professional princess-like voice.

I raced out of the door, my new winter shoes skidding against the glossy linoleum floor. The halls were empty and the hall seemed empty. Everyone had gathered their belongings to take home for winter break. The only signs that anyone had actually once been in the hall was the pieces of paper strewn about the hallway. Old pieces of birthday wrapping paper carelessly strewn throughout the hallways, a remnant of many people's attempt to clean their lockers, as had been instructed by the teachers.

I ran down the hallway, my eyes focused on my shoes, trying to make sure I didn't slip. In fact, I was so focused on the floor that I didn't notice as I ran straight in to someone. I looked up and the pug face of Lily stared back at me. Oh god please- not now; I just want to get back to Michael!

"Ah Mia! Just the person I was looking for! Now I was wondering, since you know we have like NO homework over break I was wondering if you wanted to sleep over tonight because—"

But by that time I had already gathered my books and quickly murmured and okay and something about how I had to be going because I had princess lessons and headed down the hallway. Lilly called out from behind, "Okay Mia I guess I'll see you tonight!"

I raced down the hallway, looking forward to finally seeing Michael after strenuous hours of separation. I turned the corner, eager to go home and spend time with him. I finally looked up and started heading straight for my locker. I could make out someone leaning against the locker but it didn't seem like Michael; unless he of course had gotten his hair cut. As I got closer I could see it was George, a guy from my biology class who was a new student this semester who had moved from another part of town. He had a locker near mine and was probably waiting for someone too. But I was pretty sure he didn't have a girlfriend. He looked quite a bit like Michael except for the fact that he had piercing green eyes and his hair was cut short. I ran up to the locker as he slowly said,

"Hey Mia."

"Hey George," I responded, "Have you seen Michael around?"

"Yeah I just got out of math and saw him in the computer lab talking to another guy." Duh, why didn't I guess before? He was probably finalizing and tying up loose ends in the computer club before break started and everyone went on vacation!

"Thanks!" I eagerly started to shove my books in my locker, keeping only the ones I would need over break to complete the little homework we had. I wanted to surprise Michael and make our afternoon together start on a good note.

"So Mia-" I turned around to face him.

"Yeah?" And as soon as my face had turned around he smashed his lips against mine, forcing me up against the locker. I tried to push him off but he was persistent and I my hands were stuck behind my back. I distantly heard echoing footsteps in the hallway as I finally pushed him off me. He slammed against the locker next to mine as I looked to where the footsteps were coming from. I saw the back of Michael running down the hallway frantically, his pencils falling out of his bag. I knew he had obviously seen what George had just forced me to do.

"MICHAEL!" I shouted with painful longing. I had just ruined our one chance at perfection. It was all my fault.

I shouted again "MICHAEL!", as I ran after him, sprinting down the hallway. I could hear George running behind me but I didn't care about him- that evil jerk. It was all my fault. I could have stopped him from kissing me.

Michael shouted back, "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES MIA! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!" His voice was rough and strangled and my heart filled with pain.

I had just ruined our one chance at happiness and only weeks after we had gotten together! It was all my fault. I just prayed that Michael would be willing to let me explain.

AN: Sorry for such a long wait. I know you probably want to kill me! Anyway here's the next installment! GASP! I'll probably update more this week because we have a break for Thanksgiving. School has been overly stressful and has allowed no time for me to write, so here I am now, using my free time to write an update! Please Enjoy and review lots to motivate me to write at least two more chapters!


	5. To Kiss a Princess

Michael POV:

I guess it's kind of hard to explain how I felt when I saw her in the hallway with George- someone who looks almost identical to me with a few more promising features. He was all over her just slammed against the locker. I meant nothing to her. Oh god. It's painful to think about it. But you know what, she fooled me once and she'll never fool me again. I guess what surprised me the most was the fact that she had told me she loved me. I never thought of Mia as the kind who went back on her declarations since she made so few of them. But then again I guess this just goes to show that people are not always what you think they are.

I raced out of the school, running into a fierce storm of sleet. I was careful to avoid the deathly icy puddles that filled in the various ditches or curves in the sidewalk, knowing how stupid I would look if I fell while I was running away from something I never wanted to experience in my life. But then again, maybe slipping and falling would do me some good. Maybe I would wake up from this horrible dream where Mia didn't love me anymore.

The sleet pelted my face, as I struggled against the fierce winds that blew in my face. Taxis sped up and down the street, carrying passengers to the airport, where many were trying to escape to a warmer place for what was going to be a very cold winter here in New York.

I knew the way home like the back of my hand, so I didn't really have to think about where I was going. I raced through all of the people walking home from work; my bookbag frequently bumping into various pedestrians. I got the usual, "Geez man! Watch where you're going!" But I didn't mind at the time because all I could think about was getting home.

Sharp intakes of painful cold air racked my body as I angrily tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to freeze all over my flushed cheeks. I couldn't cry, at least not in public. I mean what would people say? Oh that stupid Michael Moscovitz! He fell for all that shit that pretty princess gave him about how she loved him! Hahaha! Look at him cry!

For my sake, I couldn't cry because then I would just feel worse about the whole situation.

Finally I reached my apartment, and I burst through the door and trudged up the stairs as the ice that had gathered on my jacket melted in the heated apartment complex. I raced up to my family's apartment and barged in, knowing the door would be open.

I was greeted by the smell of gingerbread cookies, fresh out of the oven. They were one of the few things my mother could cook and since she was taking 2 weeks off for Christmas, she would probably be trying constantly to prove how well she cooked. I had a feeling that we would be having a lot of gingerbread in the following weeks. Or macaroni.

I raced through the living room and down the short hallway to my bedroom past Lily's room and I heard the faint sound of "Geez jerk! You could at least be a tad quieter than an elephant; Mia's not going to like it if you're always so grumpy!"

Oh god. Not Mia again. A fresh batch of tears welled up in my stomach, forcing their way up my throat. I fiercely held them down, willing myself once again. Most of all I couldn't let Lily see me crying.

I walked into my room, and slammed my door. I looked in on a room which seemed so bleak to me, filled with everything that I despised at the moment. Everything that reminded me of Mia which was something I definitely didn't want to be reminded of at the present time.

Now that I was finally in my own safety bubble, I threw off my coat, and leaned against the door. I slid down painfully finally letting tears flow that I had been holding back for what seemed like hours. They slid freely down my cheeks, sinking into my dark brown sweatshirt like water seeps into a sponge. I put my hands over my face, not wanting to cry like this but knowing there was no way I could hold it in forever.

So for what seemed like hours, but was actually only about five minutes, I sat there and cried my sorrows away. It felt good to let the pain escape, and my sweatshirt became like the mop with which cleaners soak up the dirty water.

Suddenly, without warning I fell flat on my back. I knew for a fact that I had locked my door, knowing that I wouldn't want to be disturbed. Damn those hairpins. As my watery eyes cleared I came face to face with the pug faced maniac that is my sister. She looked at me with furrowed brows.

I hastily jumped up and turned around heading back into my room, trying to pull the door with me. All of sudden a firm grip grasped my arm, and I found myself unable to break free.

I unwillingly turned to the face of Lily and in a ragged voice whispered, "Please Lily not now. I'll do anything you want just please leave me alone right now."

But she didn't release her grip on my arm. I was getting angry all over again. With my other hand I brushed my tear streaked cheeks, trying to compose myself. What would I have to do to make her let go of me?

"What happened Michael?" she asked in a soft but commanding voice. But I really didn't want to talk about it.

"Please Lily, I really don't want to talk about it." And I tried again to free myself of her firm grip. But it wasn't working.

"Michael, I'm not letting you go anywhere until you tell me what happened!" Oh god. I was going to have to tell her because I really didn't want to spend my whole crappy afternoon with Lily. Here goes nothing.

"I found Mia kissing George from her biology class by her locker when I went to meet her." I said in a crackly, pain filled voice. A fresh set of tears threatened to break my almost cool façade as I faced the facts of that afternoon.

Lily's eyes scrunched up in confusion and then filled with sadness. I don't know if it was for me or Mia, but I was guessing Mia. How could she feel sorry for Mia?? She did everything wrong and I did nothing!!

"Oh man Michael I'm so sorry. I can't believe it. I thought she loved you! What did she say to you in explanation?" So that sympathy in her eyes was for me. Well, that was something to think about; when had she ever felt sorry for me?

I forced the tears back down in my throat as I said, "She didn't have a chance because I ran away." I could feel them brimming in my eyes.

"Oh Michael." And then she did the most surprising thing that I have ever seen from my sister in my whole life. She hugged me. And surprisingly I hugged her back because it was what I really needed right now. The comfort of knowing someone felt sorry for me and knew how shitty I was feeling. And the tears streamed down my face because I couldn't hold them back any longer.

"Now… will you… let.. me… go?" I said between sobs.

"Anything you want Michael. I have a few things to say to Mia." She said with an angry face. As much as I hated Mia at this moment, I really didn't want her to face the wrath of Lily.

"Don't.. hurt.. her... Lil… you know how… sensitive she.. is." I once again said through sobs.

"Michael! How can you feel sorry for her when she just like ruined your life!" And she stormed away. Oh well, there really wasn't much I could do now. But I did do something, possibly unwillingly.

"LILY!" I shouted with fury and she stopped in her tracks, turning around to face me, her face boiling with anger. "Tell her I'll always love her."

And with that I turned around and slowly walked back to my room, all the while brushing away the streams of tears that gushed down my face.

Mia POV:

As soon as the initial shock had left me I turned to George with an enraged face. "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU RUINED MY ONE CHANCE AT HAPPINESS BY DOING SOMETHING I NEVER WANTED YOU TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

George stepped back with an arrogant look on his face and said, "Well now I know what it's like to kiss a princess!" and gave a small chuckle. I walked up to him with confidence I never knew I possessed and said in a ragged whispered voice, "Bastard." And with that I slapped him across the face. Hard.

"Geez Mia! What is wrong with you!" he exclaimed. I guess he never knew I had it in me well come to think of it, I didn't know I had it in me either. I strode down the hall, filled with anger at George, confidence from that slap and sadness that Michael would probably never understand. Tears started streaming down my face as I thought of what Michael shouted. I did love him, oh god I loved him so much. But he would never know. And maybe I would have to learn to live with the fact that I would never be able to get him back.

I knew he would have run home by now, but secretly I was hoping that he had been waiting outside and had seen what I did to George. Of course, he wasn't there and all I could see for miles were people, cabs and sleet. I did however come face to face with Mr. Gianini.

"Weren't you supposed to meet up with Michael after school?" Oh god. Now I was going to have to get an interrogation from my stepfather. I knew I was going to have to tell him the truth but I decided that right now I didn't want to confront the truth.

So instead I said, "Well no you see he just called me on my cell and told me that we are going to meet at his house." There we go. All covered up. Except for the tears but fortunately it was either so cold outside that they had frozen and disappeared, or Mr. Gianini chose not to ask. I guessed it was the latter.

"I can give you a ride if you want." Oh god. This created a whole new set of problems. I new he wouldn't let me walk home by myself, even if Michael's house was just around the block. And that happened to be the one place I didn't want to go right now. But I really had no choice because or else he would get suspicious

"Sure, Mr. G. That would be great." Oh god, what had I gotten myself into?

AN: Another Chapter! Yay! Sorry I haven't updated for a while, its just I haven't really had the time. Enjoy and please review! The more reviews, the quicker I post!


	6. Extra Lasagna

Mia POV:

I quickly, but carefully walked down the steps with Mr. G, making sure I didn't slip on any of the ice that layered the concrete. I would have gotten a ride with Lars, but he was with my Dad and Grandmere, back in Genovia, while they had Christmas celebrations. My Dad had decided that due to the fact that it was highly unlikely that I would be kidnapped and the fact that Mr. Gianini had volunteered me rides, that I didn't need a bodyguard over Winter Break. I would be home most of the time anyway. Thankfully Grandmere had also been kind enough, although I don't know if those are exactly the right words, to let me off Princess Lessons for the duration of Winter Break. So I was free. But I didn't feel free at the moment

I could feel the freezing air penetrate my skin, through the skimpy jacket I had on. I had forgotten that my larger jacket was in my locker.

Oh well, I wasn't in the mood to fetch it. Yeah my mom would be mad, but I was guessing that wouldn't be the focus of the next few days. It was almost Christmas and I was going to have to pretend like I was happy, at least for the sake of my mother.

We reached Mr. G's car, a small, nearly new, Honda Civic, which blended in with the scenery, as it was the color silver. Not many people in New York own a car, but Mr. Gianini does, and I really have no idea why. I mean usually people don't need cars in the city. But there you go.

I depressingly slid into the passenger seat, which I admit, seemed colder than it was outside. However, as soon as he started the engine, the heating kicked in, and I felt a lot better, apart from that heartbroken thing, which I was trying to put in the back of my mind.

The Moscovitz apartment is very close to the school, so it took us only about 3 minutes to reach his apartment complex. I sat in the car for about an extra 5 seconds trying to collect myself.

Suddenly I was broken of my reverie, "Are you sure you're okay Mia?" Mr. G asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks Mr. G." And then without giving him the chance to tell me that I should call him Frank, I hopped out of the car, leaving my school stuff in the Civic.

"Hey Mr. G, do you think you could take home my school stuff? And thanks for the ride." I said in a most happy voice as I could muster.

"Sure Mia and you're welcome. If you need anything, just call."

"Thanks Mr. – Frank."

"No problem Mia." He said with a cheerful smile which I tried to return but failed pathetically.

As he slowly drove off, he stuck out his hand to wave goodbye. I waved back as enthusiastically as I could.

I turned back to the Moscovitz apartment building, which I knew I would not be entering. My eyes traveled up the stucco wall and reached the top of the fire escape which was attached to a balcony outside Michael's room. We often sat; I mean used to sit, out there together looking at what stars were visible, if any, or just feeling of the cool breezes against our warm skin. But that was all gone now.

I heard the soft strumming of a guitar coming from Michael's room. It sounded a lot like a song he had written during the beginning of our relationship.

Suddenly the strumming stopped and I could see a shadow forming on the balcony. Shit, he was coming out. I quickly ran and sheltered behind the nearest bush. I felt his eyes searching the area, as if he knew I was there. After a while I felt calmer and the strumming started once again. He was back in his room; emergency over.

I slowly crept out of my hiding spot, stiff from crouching, even if it was for such a short period of time. I dusted myself off, as cobwebs had caught on my clothing.

I slowly and quietly started walking down the street and as soon as I was out of the vicinity of the apartment I started running. I headed to the place I always knew I felt safe: the Central Park Zoo. I knew that they would be closing soon, but the comfort of that friendly polar bear was just too good to pass up.

Michael POV:

After sitting my bed for what seemed like hours, I finally decided that I needed to make some use of my time, even if it wasn't productive.

I carefully took my guitar out of its case. Although I also had an electric guitar, this was my acoustic one. It was a basic guitar and had been my first instrument. It had been the instrument that had inspired me to teach myself guitar, just as Mia had been the first to inspire me to write songs. I remember that day I had seen it in the shop window, the sunlight of the warm July day glinting off of its wood finish. That summer had been one of absolute boredom. I had finally realized my true love for Mia, although I suspect I had loved her long before, and had no way to express it, as I thought she thought of me as her best friend's older brother. The guitar soon became my outlet for frustration.

The guitar itself was made of a light wood with a simple inlaid patter along the edges of the openings in its body. As I traced the patterns, my fingers naturally moved on the strings as I strummed thoughtfully. Almost automatically the random strumming formed into a melody I had come up with when I had first found out that Mia had loved me in return. Simply called Love, the song lacked any words at all, because all of its meaning was expressed through the notes and rhythm.

It was one of those songs that always lifted yours spirits, but today, it only reminded me of Mia. Abruptly, I stopped strumming; once again willing myself not to think about her. It seemed like a hopeless cause.

Her presence was lurking in the back of my mind and every time I tried to concentrate on getting rid of it, it seemed as if I cracked the fragile shell that held all of my memories of her. It was horrible and enlightening at the same time. Trying to escape from her haunting eyes, I stepped onto the balcony outside of my room. The cool air combined with the dampness remaining from the previous downpour fiercely brushed against my cheeks. Natural light still remained in the street below, illuminating the foliage surrounding the entrance to our apartment complex.

It seemed like the perfect afternoon, except for the one minor problem. There was no Mia. The looming darkness seemed so threatening without her presence to brighten the evening.

But a soft rustle slipped me out of my daydreams as I glanced back again to the bushes surrounding the entrance. The leaves rustled slightly. It was probably just my imagination or more likely the wind. But in my heart I knew it was something more.

I ignored it; too impatient to inquire about the disturbance. I would just make a fool of myself. And I had done enough of that today.

After drinking my fill of the crisp, fresh evening air, I once again stepped inside, back to the warmth of my room and the comforting feeling of my guitar.

Mia POV:

I sat alone in the chilly Central Park Zoo across from the polar bear enclosure. I watched the polar bear as he lazily swam around playing with his dull rubber ball, as if it was his most precious belonging.

The first thing I had done when I had entered the zoo was to turn of my phone, as I knew it was possible that Lily had fished the story out of Michael and would be trying to contact me. Either she was on my side or his, but because she had only heard his version of the incident, I was suspecting that all I would be hearing from her if I answered her call would be shouts.

I knew that no-one would be able to find me now. No-one except Michael knew about my refuge at the zoo, and I knew that he was in his room, strumming his guitar. I was too depressed to write in my journal and instead resorted to staring blankly at the polar bear and his seemingly dull rubber ball.

The zoo was practically empty, as most kids were out or at home, enjoying their first evening of freedom from school. But I was glad that it was mostly empty, because right now being alone was exactly what I needed.

I sat there, as the slow tears rolled down my cheeks. I remember the day that Michael had discovered my safe haven at the zoo. Lily and I had just had a fight. She had suggested that I was being a terrible friend because I had been spending more time with Michael; now that I was he was my boyfriend. Of course she was being hypocritical because she had done the exact same thing when I had had no boyfriend and she had had Boris.

I had run straight from school that day, not pausing to think that I had promised Michael I would meet him outside on the school steps.

He had told me later that he in fact had seen me race from the school, and had followed me all the way to the Central Park.

I remember I had been sitting on this very bench, tears threatening to fall. As I put my hands over my eyes I had suddenly felt a warm and comforting arm rest around my shoulder. I had known at once who it was.

_I slowly looked up into the brown peat bog eyes of Michael, feeling so much better in only a couple of seconds._

"_How did you know I was here?" I asked in a voice that sounded like it hadn't been used in a while._

"_It doesn't matter Mia." He said in a matter of fact voice. "Are you okay?" He asked in a concerned voice. He must have seen my fight with Lily._

"_Now I am." I said with a soft smile. "Now that you're here."_

_He smiled back at me and gave me a short but tender kiss. I smiled wider. I loved him so much._

"_Why did you come here? He asked softly._

"_Oh I always come here when I need to be alone. I came here when I found out I was a princess as well. I just find it always so calming to watch the polar bear swim. It always makes me feel better. Animals always make me feel better."_

"_I've never actually been to this zoo before you know." He said, "But now that I'm here I find it very calming. It's a weird feeling."_

"_Yeah it's surprising what the presence of animals can do to people. But I think it's also because it's something that is always here. Something that is always permanent, even if everything around it continues to change. This same polar bear has been here since I was little." I said, realizing that I had just figured out the reason why I came here._

_Michael remained silent, but his arm tightened around my shoulders. Suddenly he stuck his arm underneath my knees, lifting me into the air. I let out a squeak of surprise. _

_He had simply smiled at me, and tenderly eased his mouth over mine._

It had been one of the happiest moments of my life.

A single tear rolled down my already tear stained face.

Inevitably, the zoo had to close, and I would have to find a new refuge. So I was not surprised when one of the caretakers walked up to me.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to disturb but the zoo closes in 10 minutes. You might want to get ready to leave." I looked up into the face of a young man, who obviously worked with the animals, judging by the state of his clothing.

"Thanks, I was just getting ready to go." I said.

"Hey aren't you the princess? You know the one that goes to Albert Einstein?" He asked in an inquisitive voice.

"Yeah, I am. Well I should probably get going. I wouldn't want to be stuck in here all night!" I said in a sadly unenthusiastic voice.

"You know I really admire you. I heard how you support Greenpeace. I have always wanted to go on one of their trips to Iceland. It's nice to finally meet you."

(AN: I don't know if Greenpeace does trips to Iceland or anything like that, but in my story they do. ;) )

I was fairly surprised by this sudden "fan" I had encountered. I had never had a "fan" before. I blushed faintly. "Yeah well, I have always wanted to save the whales! I hope you get to go there one day, as I never will. It's something I've always wanted to do as well."

"Why won't you be able to go? I'm sure as a princess, that kind of work would be very good for your image. Although I'm not saying you wouldn't volunteer for it." He added hastily.

"Yeah, well unfortunately my dad disapproves of the whole flying of to Iceland thing to save the seals and whales. He says it's a crazy idea and that I have more important responsibilities to my country." I said in a sad voice.

"Well, that sucks. You can tell him from me that I'm sure all of your fans would be delighted if you went to Iceland to help the seals and whales!" He said in a sympathetic voice.

"I didn't even realize I had fans!" I said jokingly.

"Well of course you do! I know plenty of people who admire you." He said seriously and then on a more joking note, "You could be the next Princess Di!"

"Well, I don't' think anyone will ever be the same as her. But she was wonderful, and I hope I can make as much influence in the world as she did."

"Yeah well there is nothing wrong with dreams you know. Never give up hope!" He said conclusively. "It was nice to meet you!" And with that he waved and started walking down the hall, rolling his cart of food for the animals in front of him.

"You too!" I shouted after him, feeling a bit better. He looked back, smiled encouragingly and waved goodbye.

I headed for the exit of the zoo. But seconds after I started walking I remembered something. I didn't know the man's name. I swiftly turned around soon enough to glimpse him about to turn. "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" I shouted down the hallway.

He stopped abruptly and turned around. Cupping his hands around his mouth he shouted, "JONATHAN!"

"SEE YOU ROUND!" I shouted back. Even though he was so far away I could still see him smiling. I had a feeling that I had just made a new friend.

I headed back down the hallway, to the exit. As I passed through the exit of the zoo I smiled at the man who guarded the gate. He smiled back.

Tightly holding my journal in hand, I started to walk home. It was almost dark now, and the street lamps provided most of the light. However, tonight there was a particularly full moon staring down on the city, and its light cast shadows on the surrounding houses and apartment complexes.

Despite my jeans, long sleeved top and jacket, I still felt the cold nipping at me. Dark, gloomy clouds hovered around the moon and I prayed that I would make it home before more rain started to fall.

Remembering that I had turned off my cell phone, I pulled it out of the pocket of my jacket and turned it back on. I suspected that Lily had given up on trying to call me and realized that I didn't want to be bothered. So I was surprised when I felt the cell phone buzz against my skin.

I pulled it out and flicked it open, putting it by my ear. "Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Oh My God Mia!!! Are you okay?? I've been trying to call you for hours, but I kept getting this message saying that your phone was off!" Thank the lord, it was only Tina.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just needed some quiet time." I said with a sigh. I lazily kicked a ball of newspaper as I walked along the street back to my house.

"Oh my God I heard about the whole thing with Michael! Are you seriously okay? 'Cause Lily called me in this complete rage and told me what she had forced Michael to tell her but I didn't believe it for a second. You would so not do something like that to Michael! Right?"

"Yeah Tina, you see George, you know that guy from my bio class, well I was asking him if he had seen Michael because I was waiting for him, and then suddenly he pushed me up against the locker and started kissing me. And then Michael came in and well…" I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall on my cheeks once more.

"Oh Mia! That is so horrible! You need someone to comfort you! Where have you BEEN all of this time? I could have talked to you, comforted you!"

"I'm sorry Tina, its just that you see after Michael ran off, I pushed George away and then slapped him and then I walked out hoping Michael was still there and I ran into Mr. G. He, of course, still thought I was meeting up with Michael, and offered to give me a ride to Michael's house. I couldn't exactly refuse and then well after he dropped me off I just wanted to be alone and went somewhere close to sit alone." I continued to kick the ball of newspaper, trying to distract myself from thinking more about Michael than I had to.

"You SLAPPED George?? WOAH! But I understand, about the whole being alone. I would have felt the same way. Do you want me to come over to your house? Wahim can drive me and then we can talk."

"You know what Tina, can I call you tomorrow? I just want to be alone tonight." I said in a sad voice.

"Yeah sure Mia, but a promise me you'll call me! Because if you don't I'll call you!"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you then. Bye Tina."

"Bye!"

I snapped the phone shut just as a gust of wind swept away my newspaper ball. I looked up, realizing that I had walked quite far when I was talking with Tina and was almost at my house. I walked the last couple of yards and slowly walked up the steps to our door.

I fit my key into the lock and walked in. I could hear my mom in the kitchen; probably trying to prepare dinner. God help us.

I could hear Mr. G watching football, so I tried to stealthily creep up the stairs to my room. I was almost there when I heard my mother's voice shouting, "Mia! Is that you?"

"Yeah Mom, it's me. I'm just going to my room for a bit. Call me when dinner's ready!" I tried to sound cheerful, as I normally would have on the day Winter Break had begun.

"I thought you were staying over at Lily's house tonight! Has there been a change of plans?" She shouted back.

Oh crap. I had forgotten that I had planned to meet with Michael and then sleepover at their house. Shit. I quickly thought up an excuse. "Oh umm well Lily's parents said that I couldn't stay because they had to take Lily and Michael to some …. thing!"

She was so not going to buy this excuse.

But she did! "Okay honey! I'll make extra lasagna!"

I opened my door, threw my stuff down and slumped on my bed. I had completely forgotten about Michael for a total of 10 minutes. Maybe I would be able to survive.

Oh how wrong I was.

Michael POV:

I gently rested the guitar back in its case, setting it aside for another time. The purpose of playing it had been to forget about Mia, but all it had done was make me think about her more.

I ended up simply sitting on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Just as I was reliving the moment Mia had told me that she loved me, a soft knock on the door woke me from my trance.

I slowly and mournfully walked over to the door; opening it only a little. I came face to face with my mother. She had a worried look on her face. I was forced to open the door wider.

"Are you okay Michael? I haven't seen you all evening. And wasn't Mia supposed to be coming over?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah well it turns out that Mia's Grandmother needed her to come over to talk about some princess stuff. I've just been in my room working on some computer club programs." I lied quickly. Thankfully I hadn't told my mom that Mia's grandmother had gone back to Genovia for the holidays.

"Oh. Well how unfortunate. Anyway, dinner's almost ready so why don't you come into the kitchen?" She asked, seemingly convinced that I was just down because I hadn't been able to meet with Mia.

"Yeah sure mom; I'll be there in a couple of minutes." I said. Well at least I didn't have to pretend like I was happy. My mom would assume that I would be a little down in the mouth for the rest of the night for the only reason that I hadn't seen Mia.

"Okay honey!" She said and turned to walk back to the kitchen. I could see her pausing at Lily's room to tell her about dinner. Hopefully Lily would leave me alone. I was assuming she hadn't been able to talk to Mia, because if she had, she would have tried to talk to me and convince me to talk to Mia and hear her side of the story. I desperately wanted to believe that what I had seen in the hallway had been a mistake and accident, but I knew I had to face the reality: Mia didn't love me anymore.

I stepped back into my room, softly closing the door behind me. I started to walk back over to my bed, but paused as I passed the mirror. I looked terrible. My hair was all straggly, and my eyes looked red. I have never been a vain person, but I knew my parents would suspect something if I went to dinner like this. Obviously I had been in shadow when I had talked to my mom or she had chosen to ignore it; most likely the latter.

I quickly brushed my hair by pulling my fingers through it. I then took some cold water from the bottle that I had gotten for lunch that was still in my backpack. I put some on a tissue and rubbed it around my eyes. I hoped that the cool water would decrease the redness that surrounded them.

I looked at myself again, and judged my appearance. I looked a bit better, probably just normal enough that my parents wouldn't suspect. Although I knew that Mia would have known that something was up. Damn! I keep thinking about her.

Stop Moscovitz. You just have to remember that she doesn't love you and never will.

Now that my friends, is a depressing thought.

Wait I almost forgot; I don't have any friends.

Okay so that's a partial lie, but I am wallowing in my self-pity. Give me a break.

The rest of my family awaited me as I entered are small but cozy kitchen. The actual kitchen was white, but my mom had added colorful additions such as red blinds and multicolored napkins, that usually brightened it up. But today everything seemed dull.

I sat down in my usual seat, across from my dad. This was a rare occasion; eating as a family. Usually my parents had to go to some type of psychologist convention, and Lily and I were left to order pizza, or make macaroni.

But today it seemed, my mother had decided to pull together a dinner for all of us. She actually wasn't a bad cook when it came down to it, it's just I wasn't in the mood to be questioned by my parents. Hopefully they would leave me well alone; if of course they knew what was good for them.

I helped myself to a chunk of lasagna, as the dish circled the table. I made a conscious effort to avoid eye contact with Lily; I definitely didn't want to talk to her. I reached over for the salad, putting a bit on my plate. I couldn't be bothered to add dressing.

The table was silent, except for the sounds of us eating. Between the tension between Lily and I and my mother's choice to avoid me, there was no conversation.

But suddenly my dad asked a question directed at me, "So son; how is Mia these days? I know she's been dealing very well with her role as Princess."

My whole body tensed at the question. Lily had a similar reaction. My father _never_ asked about Mia. And if he ever did, he asked Lily. They were of course best friends. And it happened to be the one subject I didn't want to talk about.

The lasagna went cold in my mouth as I sensed tears welling in my throat. It was horrible. Just the mention of her made my heart crack into tiny little pieces. I didn't know how I was going to escape from these memories.

Thankfully my mother changed the subject quickly, sensing the tension around the topic of Mia. Maybe she had guessed that there was something going on between us.

"Well dear, did you hear about that new theory of emotion that Dr. Fitzberg **(AN: I am merely using this name in the story, and if there is someone of the name, no relation was meant.)** is testing on his patients?" My father seemed confused, but he was too interested in the topic of his work to bother asking why my mother had switched subjects.

From then on, I was lost in my food. I didn't want to hear about Mr. Fitzberg's theory of emotion. But at the same time, I was thankful to my mother for saving me in an awkward moment.

Thankfully, dinner finished without any more awkward questions. But the tension remained.

I was the first one to get up. I wiped what was left of my dinner into the trash bin, and then placed my plate and utensils on the counter as I slowly opened the dishwasher. Fortunately it was empty; ready to load up again. I hated it when it had not been unloaded of the clean plates and then I had to unload it. We had this rule in our house that the first to find the dishwasher unloaded had to do it themselves. I calmly placed my plate in the machine and hastily exited the kitchen.

I let out a sigh as I left the kitchen as some of the tension left. I headed straight back to room. But at that moment I thought to myself, why am I moping like this? Mia doesn't love me, so why should I mourn over the loss of her? I should try to go on. And then I thought you know what? I can do this. I can survive without her.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Mia POV:

Christmas loomed above my head like a rain cloud that threatened to pour. It was usually my favorite holiday, but this year it felt like a forced happiness. My present for Michael sat dejectedly by the framed picture of us on our first date. I didn't have the courage to throw any pictures away of us. I wanted to give my present to him, even if I wasn't his girlfriend or for that matter, his friend now. His heart was broken, or I believed it was, and it was all due to me. I felt horrible.

But at the same time, he had broken my heart to. By not even giving me the chance to explain, he had left me heartbroken as well. I wanted to hate him, but I knew that it was my fault that he hated me. It's very hard to hate someone when it's your fault and you're still in love with them.

But that was all going to have to change. If this was going to be in any way a joyful Christmas, I would have to try to forget about Michael, at least for the time being.

So I wrote out a 'Christmas Resolution' as I liked to call it:

_I, Amelia Thermopolis, swear to not think about a certain Michael Moscovitz or how much I love him for the duration of Winter Break, because I broke his heart on accident and as a result, he does not love me anymore._

I shakily signed it as a tear rolled down my cheek. This was going to be a hard Christmas.

I called Tina to put my mind off Michael and start my resolution. We chatted for a few minutes, and thankfully she didn't mention Michael. She must have got the feeling that it was a topic I did not want to discuss.

We decided that we would meet at her house to spend some time together. I got the feeling that Lily did not want to speak with me so I asked Tina not to invite her. She never really answered me, but I assumed that she would respect my wishes. I was going through a rough spot.

I decided that since Lily's house was on the way to Tina's, that I would drop off Michael's present. Even if he hated me, I still wanted him to have the present; I had spent a lot of time on it and at the time I had thought he would have like it. I hadn't bought a present for Lily yet, but I probably would at some point, even if she hated me now.

Because I had to drop of Michael's present on the way, I couldn't exactly ask Mr. G. or my mom to drive me. If they saw that I just dropped off the present instead of going in to deliver it and see what Michael thought of it, they would get suspicious.

So I resorted to walking. I waited until my Mom had left the house to go out with Mr. G., and then I left her a note:

_Hey Mom,_

_Tina picked me up so I can spend some time with her. We're at her house. Call there if you need me._

_Love,_

_Mia_

It was simple but to the point and I knew she wouldn't suspect anything now. I raced upstairs and picked up a few things, including the wrapped box that contained Michael's present. I went out the front door with the present tucked under my arm, making sure to lock it behind me. I took a key with me in case I arrived home and my mom still hadn't returned.

And with that I set off down the street. Tina's house really wasn't very far, and thankfully Lily's house was on the way; that way I wouldn't have to take a detour. Of course my dad would be mad if he knew that I was walking alone by myself in the streets of New York, but hell, I had been doing it since I was like 5. And anyway I made sure that I remained fairly invisible. Seriously, what could happen to me?

The crisp morning air refreshed my spirits but then I was reminded of my Christmas Resolution. I mustn't think about Michael. But I felt optimistic; things felt like they would work out. This wouldn't be that hard.

Finally after 15 minutes of walking, I finally reached Lily and Michael's apartment complex. The building loomed overhead, and seemed extremely tall at that particular moment in time. I knew that their apartment was only on the fourth floor which was relatively low, so it helped calmed my nerves a bit; I would simply go up to their apartment door, drop the present, ring the bell, and run off. It really couldn't be that hard.

I could see Michael's balcony above, and was reminded of last week's "accident" as I had come to refer to it. I could see now that there was a light on in his room, so I quietly entered the lobby below. In the building, you could walk up to anyone's front door and ring the bell, but there was a security guard who was stationed in a chair by the entrance. **(AN: I don't know if this is ever the case in apartment complexes because I have only lived in one when I was little and can't remember, but for this story it is. Forgive me if I am wrong.)**

Thankfully, the man was familiar with both Lars and I. He knew that I was friends with Lily, as I entered frequently by her side. He gave me a small smile and nod of the head. I smiled back.

I decided to use the stairs instead of the elevator. I had never really liked elevators after an incident in the first grade when we were on a trip at the museum and while we were in the elevator, one of the devious children in our class had pulled the emergency stop button. The elevator had ground to a halt and the lights had shut off. I had been shocked out of my senses. One of the teachers had calmly settled the children and pushed the button back in by looking around with a small flashlight keychain that she had attached to her keys, and all had returned to normal. But those few moments that I had spent in the darkness, at a complete standstill in a confined space had petrified me. From that moment on I have tried to calmly avoid elevators at all costs. But now I'm rambling.

**(AN: I don't know if that is how you actually stop an elevator, but that is how they do it in _My Best Friend's Wedding_ (a movie)so correct me if it's wrong. I really have no idea; maybe one of you has some experience in these kinds of things. Anyway, back to the story!)**

Anyway, as explained, I avoided the elevator, opting instead for the stairs. It was only a couple of floors up, four to be exact, so I didn't see any problem with a little exercise. It would burn off the calories from that ice cream I had eaten last night in my fit of depression over the "accident".

I turned off at the four floor exit on the stairs, and started walking down the hallway to apartment number 107, the Moscovitz apartment. My shoes clacked on the hard floor in the hallway, and my heart raced. Normally, coming to their apartment was as normal as eating vegetarian lasagna. Now it felt like as normal for me as eating a hamburger.

Michael POV:

I can't say I was surprised that my mother forced me to take a walk. I had shut myself in my room for at least two days (I hadn't really been keeping track) with only my guitar as my companion, and only came out for meals. Even then, I knew, I had come out looking like a zombie. I think Lily, even with all of her sibling hatred, was worried for me. And I knew she carried that sympathy, judging by my encounter with her that horrible afternoon.

Anyway, I knew if I was to keep my parents off my back, I would have to take a walk. And it couldn't be that bad. From what emotions Lily had been radiating, she had still been unable to make contact with Mia, which meant that she, also, had confined herself to her house. Although possibly for different reasons than myself, I thought bitterly.

Bitterness was a new emotion for me, and it was one that had reared its ugly head all due to my conflict with Mia. She was responsible for my pain and suffering, and anger towards her seemed to build up inside me.

I grabbed my warmest coat, even though it was clear that it was fairly sunny outside. I guess I wasn't really thinking about it. I unlocked the door, grabbed my key off of the hook that had my name written scraggly in my 7 year old handwriting above it and opened the door.

I was extremely surprised when I came face to face with one nervous Mia Thermopolis.

AN: Hey Everyone! Long time, no see! First let me explain the lack of updates. I have been away for 2 weeks for the holidays, and was unable to post my chapter. However, as a constilation, I have combined what would have probably been a couple of chapters into one for your enjoyment! Please review! If you don't, and I hate to say this, there will probably not be an update for a while, as your reviews are my only source of motivation. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please tell me what you think!


	7. Neutral Blue Snowflake Paper

Michael:

She stared at me with wide, grey, red-rimmed eyes, similar to those of a deer when they are caught by the headlights of a car. What seemed like thin film of water appeared over the gray orbs, which indicated to me that tears were imminent. But I felt no sympathy. She had broken my heart. If she was sad about it then it was her fault; she shouldn't have told me that she loved me in the first place.

I think that she saw the bitterness in my eyes and quickly shoved a fairly large package into my hands. It was wrapped in neutral blue snowflake paper that sparkled in the fluorescent lights of the hallway and I could glimpse a beige envelope with my name written on it smoothly. She had most likely written the card before she had broken my heart. I knew for a fact that no-one's handwriting could be that smooth if they were full of guilt. But maybe she didn't feel any guilt.

Once it was in my hands, I realized that the package was fairly heavy. But compared to the weight of the broken heart that I carried on my shoulders, it felt like a feather. I hoped for a fleeting instant that she had come to apologize for what had happened and to tell me that it was a mistake. But from the look in her eyes, she didn't have anything to say. She opened her mouth as a single tear ran down her cheek, tracing her soft facial features, but no words came out.

She turned around and calmly walked towards the stairs. The bitterness filled my mouth again. She really didn't care about me. At least I knew where I stood now.

My whole body shivered as an eerie feeling of coldness raced up my spine. Forgetting completely about my walk, I slowly closed the front door behind me and slipped my key back on my hook. Quietly, I made my way back to my room with the package in my hands, hoping that Lily wouldn't hear me returning. I would take the walk later. Right now I had to find out what was in the package.

When I finally reached the refuge of my room, I let out a sigh of relief, and was strangely comforted by my ruffled white sheets and plain room. I tenderly placed the package on my bed, wondering what could have possessed Mia to give me a present after what had happened. Wary of the package, I first picked up the card.

My hands shaking, I ripped open the card, and pulled out a glittery card. The front of the card, which was similar to the wrapping paper, consisted of a raised snowflake covered with glitter with smaller, similar ones surrounding it. The glitter rubbed off on my fingers as I carefully tried to open the card. I found myself wondering if Mia had gotten the same glitter on her fingers.

Pushing those thoughts away, I opened the card to find "Happy Holidays from the one who loves you most!" and underneath written in Mia's handwriting,

_Dear Michael-_

_I hope you like my present! I didn't know what to buy you so I thought that I'd make you something! Happy Holidays! _

_Love,_

_Mia XOXOXO_

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I thought of how happy we had been. How could Mia have given me this card? Did she just not bother to change it? Or did she not change it for a reason? As calmly as I could, I tossed the card onto the desk that held my computer and turned back to my bed.

The package, unlike the card, looked hastily wrapped, like she had done it at the last minute. The wrapping paper was wrinkled and unevenly cut in some places, and the stick-on bow, which was a pearly white color, had been hastily placed in one of the corners. I turned it over and pulled off the tape that held the wrapping paper secure. I wasn't one for ripping off wrapping paper, but I didn't like to waste time either. It was pointless to try to save the wrapping paper usually. But this time I _wanted_ to save it. I wanted to save some of what I had left of Mia. I'm pathetic.

So I carefully peeled away the wrapping paper away from what seemed to be a cardboard box. When I lifted the lid off of it, and pulled away the tissue paper, I found what seemed like an extremely long book(as in dimensions). I lifted it from its box, pulling the tissue paper away as I went. The opening of the cover revealed that the "book" was in fact a photo album. On the front page was an intricate collage centered around my favorite picture of Mia and I. Surprisingly, the shot had been taken by Lily at the Cultural Diversity dance during Mia's freshman year. Apparently she had told Boris that she was going to the bathroom, and when we both weren't looking, she quickly snapped a picture of us dancing. She hadn't actually given us the picture until we had gotten together, so neither of us knew about it. I remember that night so well, that now when I think about it, it seems like only yesterday. I remember the pleasurable feeling of having Mia so close to me but at the same time, having her so out of reach. At that time, I had thought she didn't love me. Maybe I should have continued with that belief. Look at where thinking she loved me had gotten me.

Realizing I had turned away from the photo album in my ponderings, I gazed back open the album. As I flipped through the pages, memories flashed through my mind. Mia had carefully sorted the box of pictures of us that I knew she kept in her room into separate events or categories. There was a _Silly_ page, and a _Romantic_ page and various pages for the different events we had attended. As I glanced down at the _Movie Time_ page, I saw scattered tickets from the movies we had attended, including old re-showings of the Star Wars movies. I remembered how she had asked for my ticket at all of the movies and I had never given a thought. The most recent instance I could remember was about 2 months ago. She must have been working on this for a long time.

As I lifted the album up to get a closer look at one of the darker pictures of Mia and I at the movies, a small piece of paper slipped out from the album and floated casually down to rest on the beige carpet of my bedroom floor. From where I was standing I couldn't see what it said, but I _could_ recognize Mia's handwriting. I carefully, but hastily placed the album back on the bed and bent down to pick up the paper. My knees winced at some of the first quick movements I had made in days.

Not wanting to strain my knees (although I had no idea why they were hurting) I quickly grasped the piece of paper and stood straight once again. I took at seat by my computer and flattened out the paper so I could read it better. It was smudged at the bottom and the whole sentence seemed to have been written hastily.

I started reading the beginning, " _I, Amelia Thermopolis-_", but a sharp knock on the door interrupted me and I hurriedly folded the paper and shoved it into my jean pocket.

Mia POV:

My walk to Tina's house was fairly uneventful, but even if anything important had happened, I don't think I could have remembered, since I spent the whole walk thinking about the look on Michael's face.

The first thing I had taken in about him, after the initial shock, was his bedraggled appearance. His hair, which normally was silky and thick and made me want to run my hands through it, now was straggly, and had lost its soft shine. His face on the whole seemed very depressed and bags under his eyes implied sleepless nights. And when I finally locked eyes with him, I didn't notice the red rims around them or the way the peat-bog goodness seemed to have disappeared. All I saw was what normally was his love for me shown in his eyes shaded by a harsh, judgmental stare, which reminded me of the bitterness after you take a bite of a lemon for your first time at the age five. But it wasn't that normal bitterness associated with something as simple as a fruit. It was a heartbroken bitterness; one I knew I had caused.

That look in his eyes had taken away all of my hope that he still wanted me back. I had tried to speak to him, but once I caught the glance for a second time, I knew it was hopeless. He wouldn't listen to anything I said, so I knew that I should just leave him to try to get over me. I knew my present wouldn't help, but maybe it would trigger his love for me again, if it was still there.

And if he didn't see from that present that I still loved him, then he didn't want to see it and that was something I was going to have to accept.

As I turned the corner to Tina's house, I set my back straight, giving the impression that I felt confident, and snatched a tissue from my pocket and quickly rubbed my red-rimmed eyes and blew my nose. Hopefully I looked presentable; hopefully I looked like I hadn't just seen Michael.

I walked up the gate that was the entrance to the main courtyard and calmly pressed the button on the side. Tina's voice flowed through the speaker calmly, "Hello? Mia?"

I responded quickly; I felt nervous for no particular reason, "Yeah Tina, it's me, Mia."

"Okay hold on a sec, let me open the gate!" And with that the gate to their house started slowly creaking open and I slipped through quickly. Her house really wasn't that big, but her parents were very paranoid when it came to security. I mean why do you think she has a bodyguard?

I could see the front door open from where I was and Tina came rushing out. "Mia! I'm glad you came! Come on in! I just made some cookies!"

I was extremely surprised. Tina, making cookies? I never knew she did that kind of stuff. When Lily and I had always done it for fun she had sat on the side and just tasted them after they were done. Whatever; cookies sounded appetizing right now. I needed a sugar boost.

I walked inside and followed Tina to see someone sitting at the table by a plate of what looked like delicious cookies.

As I walked up to grab a cookie, I came face to face with Lily. Oh god. I was in for it now. Why had Tina betrayed me?!?

"Spill it Mia. I want the whole story."

AN: I'm so sorry I haven't updated and I'm sorry this is so short. Well actually I haven't really had time to even think about updating. Midterms are next week, but I wanted to get another chapter, even if it was a shortone, up for all of you to read. About reviews. Ihave come to realize that no matter how much I ask, reviews come slowly. I now realize that I shouldn't rely on them as my source of inspiration so if you want to review thats absolutley wonderful(it helps me a lot, especially if you give me suggestions) but if you don't then I hope you enjoy reading this story!


	8. Linoleum

Mia POV:

_As I walked up to grab a cookie, I came face to face with Lily. Oh god. I was in for it now. Why had Tina betrayed me?_

"_Spill it Mia. I want the whole story."_

I stood frozen, the chocolate chips in the cookie melting in my uncomfortably warm hands. What was I supposed to say? From the brief glimpse I had of Michael, I could see that he was in extremely bad shape, and although Lily always pretended that she hated Michael, they were siblings, and she would be mad that he was hurting because of me. And Lily can be very unforgiving when she's in protective mode. So you can see why I didn't exactly want to tell her what had happened.

I glared at Tina, cursing myself for believing that she would give me a shoulder to cry on.

"I'm really sorry Mia! She just turned up and forced me to let her stay until you came over!"

And from the look on her face, and the hysterical way she was speaking, I knew she was telling the truth. On top of that, I knew how persuasive Lily could be.

I turned to Lily, my face calm. "If you want the story, you have to promise not to interrupt no matter how much you hate me."

She nodded silently and out of the corner of my eye I could see Tina quivering. "Tina, why don't you go get me that series of romance books that you wanted me to read to make me feel better?" She had of course never suggested this.

"Um…." And then she caught on. "Well, they're in the attic so it might take a while; is that okay?"

"Sure, go ahead." And she scampered off, like a rabbit from a wolf. In fact, Lily did look similar to a wolf at this time; quite a bit more ferocious than her normal pit-bull face.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. If I was going to tell her the story then I was going to tell it calmly. I was not going to cry; I was not a weak rabbit like Tina.

I stared down at my feet, suddenly very interested in the linoleum pattern that adorned Tina's kitchen floor. I shakily began.

"Um, well I guess I'll go from when I ran into you, that Friday after we got out for break." This was good. No emotions so far.

"You know you were asking me if I wanted to sleepover…" I paused as she nodded.

"And then I ran off. Well I ran off because I was looking for… um.." God it was harder to say this then I thought.

"Well I was looking for.." I paused again. How hard was it to say his name?

"Well. Michael." I said, and then continued to blabber to cover my emotions.

"Because you see well he had talked to me the night before and we had agreed to meet by my locker when school ended. But you see I had been daydreaming in algebra." I coughed as a blush rose on my cheeks. The floor was awfully interesting.

"And I was late see. That's why I was running." I took another breath.

"And then after I had ran by you, I made it to my locker. And there was this guy there, but it wasn't… Michael. It was George from my biology class. You know the one who moved here this semester?"

She nodded, her eyes dark with anger. Michael had obviously mentioned _George_.

"Well I came up to him and he said hi, so of course I said hi back. And I didn't see.. well.. Michael anywhere, so I asked him if he had seen him. He said that he had seen him in the computer lab, so I assumed he was finishing up something for Computer Club."

"Well I quickly started putting my books away, because I wanted to surprise Michael. But then George started to ask me a question so I turned around to face him and-"

I couldn't go on. My throat was constricting and tears were welling in the corner of my eyes. I had swore I would not cry!

"And well he just pushed me up against the locker and forced his lips onto mine and I couldn't push away because my hands were caught behind my back-"

Lily's face contorted with rage and almost reminded me a wolf when it bares its teeth at its rival like on those nature shows on the Discovery Channel nature programs. I assumed the rage was directed towards me, the one who had hurt her brother. But she didn't know the pain I felt telling this story, the anger I felt at George's firm grip on me and the coldness I felt as I saw Michael's disappearing form. I felt a tear begin to fall, and quickly stared at the floor.

"And I… well… then Michael was coming and he saw it just as I managed to free my hands. And well he ran off and he said-"

The tears fell as I stared at my white folded hands and red knuckles. The coldness washed over me. It felt like I would never be warm again.

"He said- well he said that he didn't want to hear my excuses and that he thought that I loved him."

My knees gave in as I sunk to the floor and softly touched the linoleum. It was cold, just like my hands, just like my heart. The small blue diamond patterns stared back at my face, and I watched as my tears flooded them, making small puddles, isolated on the large plain that I knelt on. Water flowed along the ridges on the patterns and traveled, spreading their sadness. I was like a disease. I made happy people sad. I ruined people's lives.

"And he didn't even look back.", I continued in a strangled voice, "He just kept on running. He just ran."

I stood back up, resolved to not cry anymore. I shakily regained my balance and furiously wiped the tears from my eyes. I took a deep breath and straightened my shirt. I tried to act as if nothing had happened.

I painstakingly removed my eyes from the floor and faced Lily whose face was still angry. I once again wiped my cheeks and quietly whispered, "Well, I'll just be leaving now. Tell Tina that I'll get those books later."

I turned around, walking towards the door only to come face to face with Tina, who had a stack of dusty books in her hands varying in different colors from pink to yellow.

"Mia! You didn't tell her what happened after Michael left! You know what you did to George!"

I let out a shuddering sigh and stared longingly at the door. I faced Tina, and hissed, "Great Tina. Do you really think that Lily wants to hear what happened? She already hates me and thinks I lied enough as it is. I don't need to tell her what happened next because she'll never believe me!"

A terse voice sounded directly behind me. "Tell me what happened Mia." Great. Why do I always have to whisper so loud?

I mumbled what I thought was incoherently under my breath, "I called him a bastard and slapped him."

I was surprised to see Lily's eyes widen in shock; I hadn't thought she had actually heard me. I was surprised to see her smirk; probably imagining me slapping a guy.

I made a beeline for the door, not wanting to get caught in such an awkward situation. I cringed as a firm hand grasped my upper arm. Great.

The Almighty Lily had captured me and was holding me prisoner. I don't suppose anyone would be kind enough to put together a rescue team?

I didn't think so.

Micheal POV:

_I quickly grasped the piece of paper and stood straight once again. I took at seat by my computer and flattened out the paper so I could read it better. It was smudged at the bottom and the whole sentence seemed to have been written hastily._

_I started reading the beginning, " I, Amelia Thermopolis-", but a sharp knock on the door interrupted me and I hurriedly folded the paper and shoved it into my jean pocket._

This was beginning to annoy me. Why couldn't people just leave me alone?

I strode towards the door, expecting Lily. On second thought, when does Lily ever knock?

I opened the door to find my mom staring coldly at me. Uh-oh. Now my mom is a nice person and she makes good lasagna, but seriously you don't want to be in her path when she is mad. If you are, you finally realize where Lily gets the ugly side of her personality from. Although I don't know if there is a good side to Lily; it's mostly ugly. At least my mom has a good side.

Anyway, she calmly pointed at the door and said tersely, "Out Michael. I don't want to see you wallowing in your room all day."

Well I sure wasn't expecting that. But from experience, I knew it was best to follow her orders. The last thing I needed right now was an angry mother scolding me.

So calmly, I once again removed my key from the hook at pulled on a thick coat, noticing that the clouds had covered the brief sunlight that had appeared right when I had encountered Mia in the hallway.

I calmly strode down the sidewalk, heading for the park. Remembering that I still the note that I was reading when I was interrupted, I pulled it out of my jean pocket. I squinted to read the smudged writing.

"_I, Amelia Thermopolis, swear to not think about a certain Michael Moscovitz-"_

I was shaken as I bumped into a passing pedestrian who yelled, "Watch out where you're going man!"

I ignored him. This was turning out to be a very informative slip of paper. I reached the park and sat down on a bench in order to prevent any more yelling pedestrians.

"- _or how much I love him for the duration of Winter Break, because I broke his heart on accident and as a result, he does not love me anymore."_

My breath caught in my throat. Mia didn't break my heart on purpose?

Mia still loves me?

**AN: Please don't hurt me! Sorry for the lack of updates! Below are some responses to reviews. Thankyou so much for all of your comments and please continue to read and review! If you have any suggestions for the story or on how I could improve it I would appreciate them!**

Zfustar: Thanks! I feel honored!

SAXandCLARINETgrl: Thanks for the encouraging review! Its always good to hear from people who like my stories

Laur: thanks for your review! I hope you enjoy the story as it continues!

VIP86: I really hope you do keep reading! I'm sure many of us would like more reviews! Oh well! Thanks for yours! It is very encouraging! And I'm glad you liked the part about the photo album; I wasn't sure it would work with the story!


	9. Bloody Zookeepers

Mia POV:

_I made a beeline for the door, not wanting to get caught in such an awkward situation. I cringed as a firm hand grasped my upper arm. Great._

_The Almighty Lily had captured me and was holding me prisoner. I don't suppose anyone would be kind enough to put together a rescue team?_

_I didn't think so._

I squeezed my eyes tight in frustration. Why must I always get myself into these situations?

I mean I really do try to keep my life normal. It's just kissing jerks and evil best friends usually tend to stir it up a bit. I really must learn to get rid of them.

I was fed up of this. Why were people always ruining my life and bossing me around?

I turned to Lily, who had a very lazily normal look about her; one of those all powerful looks, like I was an idiot and she was a Queen. Well I wasn't about to be her subject anymore. It was supposed to be the other way round anyway.

My eyes crinkled in anger, "You know what Lily? It ISN'T funny. I've lost my boyfriend, I've been betrayed by the one I thought was my friend-"

I stared pointedly at Tina. She cringed under my ruthless gaze.

"And now _you're_ holding me captive like I'm some kind of _idiot_ and you can make me do whatever you want! Well I'm fed up! Just let me go! I have enough wrong with my life without you bossing me around!"

Triumphantly, I shook free of Lily's grasp, which seemed to have lost all her power in the shock of my impressive speech. She was staring at me with bulging eyes, as was Tina. I must say I was very proud of myself. I didn't notice that my door key for my apartment had fallen out of my pocket in my haste.

I walked back over to Tina's table, grabbed a cookie, and sauntered out of there, just like Grandmere had taught me in princess lessons.

I opened the door to a light drizzle, but yet a refreshing burst of fresh air. I zipped up my coat and took a bite of the chocolate chip cookie, feeling confident in my decision.

The drizzle coated my hair, but I was oblivious. If someone had seen me and asked me who I was now and I said Mia Thermopolis they would probably fall over with shock. I felt that I had found a new me. Yes I had been forced to kiss a jerk. Yes I had lost my boyfriend. Yes I would now have no friends at school. Yes I would be a loner. But for the first time in my life, I felt confident. And that was all I needed.

Anyway, how hard could it be to live without friends? I had done it before. I had been invisible before. I mean up until the princess thing, half of the school didn't know I existed. I would manage.

Or at least I hoped I would.

Michael POV:

_I ignored him. This was turning out to be a very informative slip of paper. I reached the park and sat down on a bench in order to prevent any more yelling pedestrians._

"_- or how much I love him for the duration of Winter Break, because I broke his heart on accident and as a result, he does not love me anymore."_

_My breath caught in my throat. Mia didn't break my heart on purpose?_

_Mia still loves me?_

It would be a lie if I said I wasn't ecstatic.

But life was never this simple. How could it be that I just happened to find this slip of paper? I mean seriously, what are the chances. Did she put it in the album on purpose? Or was it an accident?

And the most importantly, if what was on this paper was true, then why had she been kissing George?

Come to think of it, Mia had never said she stopped loving me. In fact she had never approached me at all after the incident. Why didn't she say something?

And as hard as it was to admit it I knew the answer to that question.

I hadn't given her the chance.

I had purposely stayed in my room for the majority of the week, and she probably hadn't dared to ask Lily to come over because Lily was mad with her as well. And when I had accidentally bumped into her in front of our apartment, I hadn't exactly been very friendly. Bitterness flowed from my heart all the way to my fingertips as I remembered that moment. She had broken my heart, but I hadn't realized that I had broken hers too.

I suddenly felt guilty. Had she felt the same pain I had? Or was this just all a hoax to embarrass me again?

I mean it hadn't exactly looked like she was trying to escape from George's grasp when I had suddenly "interrupted" them.

So I resolved to let it sit for a while. I wouldn't show any bitterness towards to her, but I wouldn't speak to her or try to reconcile with her either. And when school started again, I would watch from a distance, and see if she made any movements to try to talk to me. I would leave everything open for her; all she would have to do was come up and explain.

But I didn't realize how hard it would be to watch her from a distance.

And all of a sudden raindrops started to fall.

Mia POV:

I returned home, drenched with rainwater, but alive all the same.

The door was locked, and I hastily searched for the key, realizing that my parents must have not returned home yet.

Not finding it in my jean pockets, I hastily searched my jacket pockets. The key wasn't there either.

Oh shit.

_I shook free of Lily's grasp… didn't notice that my door key for my apartment had fallen out of my pocket in my haste._

Double shit.

I stared up in frustration at the dark rain clouds that continued to shower their blessings upon me.

Haha. Blessings.

I remembered the penguin house. I hastily pulled out my cell phone checking the time. _4:30._ The zoo didn't close until seven. My mom had assured me that she would return by six, so if I killed about an hour and a half at the zoo, by that time it would have stopped raining and I would be able to return home and pretend that I had just returned from Tina's. I remembered that I also still had my journal with me. I could write all about what had happened with Lily.

I ran as I fast as I could without slipping, trying not to get anymore wet than I already was. Unfortunately, when I finally made it to the zoo, my hair was soaking and my clothes weren't much better off. I shivered as I paid my entrance fee to the zoo and quickly made my way to the dry shelter of the penguin exhibit. Although it was still cold in here, the penguins kept me company, and it was dry.

I remembered Jonathan, the kind caretaker I had met when I was here last time. Maybe he took care of the penguins as well. I normally would have gone to the polar bear, but his exhibit was closed for cleaning. I guess they thought this was the best time of day to do it, since they probably wouldn't have many visitors when it was raining and so near to Christmas.

I pulled my coat tighter around me and pulled out my worn journal. I flipped to the next clean page and began recounting the incident with Lily. Hopefully the hour would pass quickly and I could return to the warmth of my apartment.

I was just reaching that part where I found out that Tina had betrayed me to Lily when I felt another presence. I quickly lifted my head, hoping it was Jonathan.

Michael POV:

I cursed in annoyance at the fat raindrops that were falling down upon me. I quickly headed for the nearest shelter. The trellis that I found wasn't exactly adequate, as the rain went through the deciduous plants that had lost all of their leaves.

I quickly scanned the area for a sturdier shelter of some kind. My eyes rested on a sign in the distance.

"Central Park Zoo"

Oh well, I would have to pay, but it was better than looking like an idiot trying to shelter under a trellis. Not that there was anyone there to see me. I guess I was dealing with my own conscience. I quickly fished out a five dollar bill and shoved it hastily into the ticket man's hands, mumbling "Keep the change".

I quickly ran into the shelter of the building and my feet automatically carried me towards the polar bear exhibit. I had been there many times with Mia.

I found my way to the entrance, but was disappointed to find a sign that read,

"_This Exhibit is Closed for Cleaning. Sorry for any Inconvenience this May Cause"_

Bloody Zookeepers.

I walked onto next entranceway to an exhibit with a large sign reading "_Penguins_" above it. Oh well. This would do for now.

I saw someone else sitting on the bench across from the penguin enclosure. She looked very absorbed in what she was doing, which looked like reading. She didn't look up as I got closer and saw that she was writing in what looked like a journal.

Her hair was dark with water, which I assumed was from the rain that she had come through to get here. My hair was in a similar state.

I looked closer at what she was writing in. It looked very familiar. I could see her face scrunch in frustration as she wrote large capital letters which I could see read, "STUPID BEST FRIENDS! WHY CAN'T I EVER RELY ON THEM! EVEN WHEN I'VE JUST LOST A BOYFRIEND!"

She seemed angry. I mean I would be too if I had just lost my boyfriend. I hoped that she would be happy again.

She suddenly jerked her head up and I almost fell over with shock.

It was Mia.

Mia POV:

I stared in shock at who was standing above me. MICHAEL!

Oh my God. Calm. Take a deep breath.

MICHAEL!

I quickly shut my journal, hoping he hadn't read anything. I looked down trying to avoid his also shocked eyes. My eyes rested on his left hand in which he held a slip of paper.

I squinted my eyes in concentration, wanting to read what I said. I thought it was just his entrance ticket.

But then I noticed my handwriting.

OH MY GOD.

MY CHRISTMAS RESOLUTION!

How the hell did he get his hands on that? That was supposed to be a secret! Had he broken into my room? I quickly flipped through my journal, hoping to find that my real resolution was still where I had left it.

I could find it no where.

I saw him follow my furious glance towards his hand. He looked up meekly. This could only mean one thing. Michael Moscovitz had read my journal.

I looked into his eyes with a hurt expression. How could he invade my privacy? I thought he at least respected me that much even if he thought I had cheated on him.

All of a suddenly he quietly whispered, "Do you still love me Mia?"

I was furious. How could he just expect me to forgive him for reading my journal? I stood up with anger and shouted furiously,

"How _dare _you invade my privacy like that! Who do you _think_ you are?"

I stormed out of the penguin house and out through the exit of the zoo, not wanting to listen to any of his explanations.

I stepped outside and let out a frustrated sigh.

It was still raining.

**AN: Thanks for all of the reviews! I hope you like this chapter!**

**SAXandCLARINETgrl:** Thanks for the comment! Hopefully they'll get back together in the end, but I guess you'll just have to keep reading and reviewing to find out! ;)

**sarah:** Thanks! And please if you have any suggestions, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**sparklingt87**: I'm glad you like it! And now its been updated:)

**bob:** Haha yeah well I couldn't resist! I'm sure any sane writer can't resist cliffhangers! ;)

**finally**: I try hurry! Although most of the time it doesn't work... but thanks for the review!

**VIP86**: Well I kept writing! I hope you liked this chapter and please review!

**Thankyou to everyone who reviewed! Please keep doing so! It helps the updates to come faster because I know you're waiting for them!**


	10. Axe Murderer

Mia POV:

I officially hate the rain.

I stood outside of the zoo, watching the dark clouds float above and willed them to go away.

Of course it didn't work. I'm lacking in the superpower department.

But you know what? I don't care anymore. Just like I don't care what Lily thinks of me. Just like I don't care that I don't have any friends. Just like I don't care that I lost my boyfriend.

My face broke into a false smile, which surprisingly lifted my spirits. I didn't care! Come and get me rain! Bring it on!

I sat down on a bench and let the rain soak through to my bare skin. I took my sweater off, tilted my head back, opened my mouth and let the cool droplets fall across my white skin. I rested my arms on the back of the bench and sprawled my legs out in front of me.

I closed my eyes and the last thing I remember before I blacked out was the cool taste of raindrops flowing down my throat.

Michael POV:

I sat down on the bench with a sigh.

So much for reuniting with Mia. But why had she been so mad at me? Was the damp, crinkled piece of paper that I was now folding and inserting into my pocket not supposed to be in my possession?

Well it did seem a little private. I guess.

Great.

Now Mia's mad at me, and I'm stranded at the Central Park Zoo in the middle of a rainstorm without a raincoat.

I sat down on the bench with a sigh and stared at the penguins in front of me. There they were, swimming and sliding around, with no knowledge of what had just taken place.

It would be nice to be a penguin.

I mean seriously. No worries at all. Food is provided for you everyday and you can swim all you want even when it's really cold. Plus you don't need an umbrella if it starts raining.

I leaned back against the stucco wall behind me and closed my eyes. Why wouldn't anything go right for me? I knew there was no hope of chasing after Mia. She would have probably called the limo by now. So I had no choice but to wait, at least until the storm passed.

In the distance I heard the roll of thunder and seriously hoped that Mia had found shelter. Maybe she had just gone to another exhibit?

I pushed those thoughts aside. What use was it now?

Because I had not heard thunder in a while, I decided to venture outside. Secretly I hoped Mia was still there.

I painfully rose from my position on the bench. You'd think they could get some cushions or something.

Slowly, with my hands in my pocket, one enclosed around the piece of paper I still had in my possession, I meandered over to the exit of the zoo.

I slowly pushed the door open to reveal that it was, in fact, still raining.

Sigh.

I searched in the distance for the "POG" as Lily so often jokingly referred to her.

I saw her sitting on a bench; her head slumped in front of her, in a most awkward manner. Had something happened?

I quickly rushed over to her, not caring about the rain that continued to fall. As I came closer, I could see that she was soaked thoroughly and had stupidly taken off her sweater. Whatever had possessed her?

I lifted a twig off of the ground, and cautiously poked her in the arm. If she was in fact merely resting her eyes, I wanted to be able to make the quickest and most blameless escape possible.

She didn't respond, which didn't worry me, because I knew that she was a heavy sleeper.

I cautiously poked her in the cheek, which I knew would wake her if she was in fact, just sleeping. She didn't respond.

This was seriously worrying. I knew that either the cold had gotten to her, or she had just been knocked out by something. I checked her pulse. She was still alive. Thank God.

Knowing that she wouldn't know I had ever done this, I gently picked her up in my arms, which I had never done before. She was surprisingly light, which again worried me. Had she been eating enough?

I hated to think that this was all my fault. What if I had never approached her? If I had never revealed that I loved her? She wouldn't be mad at me, and she wouldn't have been in this situation.

Oh well. Life's to short for what ifs. Or that's what I've heard.

I easily carried her back to the entrance of the zoo where a young guy was sitting in the booth. His eyes widened as he saw I was holding a body in my arms.

"Hey, um can you please just let me in without a fee?"

"Um well…my superiors…"

"DAMN! This is the Princess of Genovia! JUST OPEN THE DAMN GATES!"

He nodded his head furiously and pressed a green button. The gates swung open and I quickly carried her inside and laid her down on the nearest bench. I perched on the edge of the bench to catch a breath, my head between my knees. Who knew I had all that shouting in me. Now he probably thought I was an axe murderer.

I looked up into the face, of the same guy who had let me in.

"What do you want?"

"Um… I just wanted to make sure… that you didn't… kill her or something."

Oh man.

"Listen. Do you have a phone around here? She's out cold and we need to get her bodyguard to pick her up."

"Um yeah… follow me."

I made a fleeting glance over to Mia.

"Don't worry I have a surveillance camera in here." He pointed to a small camera in the corner. "We can watch her from the office."

I sighed in relief. Why did they have video cameras in the zoo anyway? I voiced my question.

He chuckled. I bet he was thinking that for my next axe murderer attack I would pick somewhere without cameras.

"Well I don't really know. Probably to make sure people don't harm the animals, and just to keep a general eye on the animals and everything that is going around in the zoo."

"Oh."

We reached the office. I looked over to what I assumed was his backpack. It was covered with Greenpeace stickers. I bet him and Mia would get along REALLY well. Maybe they already know each other.

I accepted the phone he handed me and quickly dialed Lars' cell phone number. I handed it to him.

"Now just tell this guy that the Princess is in the Central Park Zoo, near the entrance and that she's out cold and that you couldn't wake her up."

He looked frightened but accepted.

"Um yeah… Hi. This is Jonathan. And I work at Central Park Zoo. And I've just found the Princess of Genovia out cold on one of our benches.

"Yes, she has a diary with her."

"Yes I know it's her."

"How did I get your number?" I looked at me nervously. I mouthed "First number on her cell phone to him".

"Yeah it was the first number on her cell phone."

"Okay I'll be waiting at the entrance."

"Bye."

He turned to me questioningly.

"Why did you not want this guy to know it was you?"

I knew this was coming. Damn.

"Um… well you see, she used to be my girlfriend, and she doesn't exactly like me anymore for reasons I'm not willing to discuss with you."

I glanced at the video camera screen quickly, to see that Mia was okay. She was still blacked out.

"Oh."

Silence stretch between us. Finally I spoke.

"Um… just don't tell him or her for that matter, that I found her and brought her to you, okay?"

"Yeah sure man."

"And I'll wait with her while you wait at the front and then leave when I hear you coming, okay?"

"Okay."

I sighed and started to walk out of the office. He followed and we both split to go our separate ways. I came up to Mia, whose possessions were sitting next to her. I was tempted to look at her journal, but after the previous experience only hours before, I decided it wasn't the brightest idea.

I sat down on the remaining bench above where her head rested and slowly stared down at her resting form. I slowly stroked her wet hair. It felt so good to be able to touch her again.

In the distance, I heard the quick, heavy footsteps of Lars and the even quicker steps of Zoo Boy trying to keep up with him. I quickly ran around the corner to the exit, fearing Lars would come after me.

It was cold outside, and I stuck my hands in my pockets for warmth. My right hand rested around Mia's slip of paper.

If only things hadn't turned out this way.

AN: Thankyou for all the wonderful reviews! Sorry that it took such a long time to update!

**funkylicious**: I'll try to keep them comin'!  
**Dione**: Sorry the updates don't come faster... I'll try to update faster. I realize that waiting for the next chapter for so long is annoying. Thankyou for the compliment!  
**tina**: well here's chapter 10! Enjoy!  
**warrior-wolf:** Now its updated! I hop you like this chapter!  
**frostyqueen**: I'm glad you liked it! I aim for a reader in suspense!  
**Nick**: thankyou for the compliment. I realize that Mia is a bit more agressive in this story, but I fel that to fit what I wanted to write, I had to change her abit. I hope you keep reading and reviewing!  
thetroublew/love: Sorry i didn't update sooner and thanks for the review. Hopefully they will come faster now.  
**SAXandCLARINETgrl**: Thanks for the review! And sorry for such a long time till I updated after such suspense! I know its frustrating to have Mia acts so stupidly, but if she didn't how would there be any suspense:)  
**sparklingt87**: I agree. They are VERY stupid kids.  
**hgill:** Thanks! I appreciate the review!  
**Hawaiian- Rachael**: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!


	11. Swallowing a Porcupine

Mia POV:

I groggily opened my eyes to come face to face with a stark white ceiling. This definitely wasn't my room.

I struggled to remember when I had last been awake. I vaguely remembered sitting in something that reminded me of a shower and coolness on my skin.

Oh.

I had been in the rain. Aha.

WHAT KIND OF IDIOT FALLS ASLEEP IN THE RAIN?

But more importantly, how did I get here?

I stared around me and everything was the same stark white as the ceiling. And then it hit me.

I was in a hospital.

My eyes scrunched up at all the brightness. My fears were confirmed as I tried to swallow. It felt like I was swallowing a porcupine. I hurriedly looked around for a glass of water as the pain overwhelmed me. I let out a hoarse rasp as I found none and fell back onto the pillow.

I hate it when I get sick. And thanks to my extreme stupidity, I now probably had the flu or something horrible like that. Hopefully it didn't involve throwing up. I hate throwing up. Whenever I throw up, it feels like I have lime combined with acid swishing around in my mouth.

Which I guess it technically is, since it's like acid from your stomach, combined with that lime herbal tea that my mom always gives me when I get sick.

It's amazing the clarity that comes with bed rest.

I stared again at the table beside my bed. The blaring red digital clock read 5:00 am. I was surprised that the lights were still on at this time. Maybe they're watching me with a video camera.

Naaah. They would have seen me wake up and rasp because of my sore throat. And then they would have brought me water. Because after all, I am the Princess of Genovia. Or do they know that?

That sounds really bratty. Who cares if I'm the Princess of Genovia? There are people all around the world who are starving and I ate today. Seriously, out of all the things that could have happened, getting the flu isn't that bad. I don't know why I'm even here for such a small thing like that.

That brought me back to my original question. How did I get here? Maybe a zookeeper had rescued me?

Dare I say, may Michael have rescued me?

Naaahhh.

He hates me.

I resumed my staring around the room, shoving thoughts of Michael to the back of my mind. It was in fact a pretty nice room, now that I could see it better. Most importantly, I saw a T.V. hanging from the top right hand corner of the room. Now if I could only find the controls.

Unfortunately I saw them resting on top of the VCR that hung under the T.V.

Damn.

I resumed my staring but boredom overwhelmed me after a mere 5 minutes.

I decided that an expedition would serve me better than merely just sitting and trying to go back to sleep. Maybe I would find a stray water bottle.

I stood up and made my way over to the T.V.

Even though I was extremely tall, I couldn't reach the controls. How tragic. The one time my height, which I hate, was about to come in handy, it fails me.

I glimpsed a chair in the other corner and laboriously pulled it over. As I was finally grasping the control, I heard a click and turned.

"Mia! Honey! I'm so glad that you're up!"

So they had been watching me with surveillance cameras.

Damn. They had watched me doing everything and hadn't even lifted a finger! I bet they even were laughing at my pathetic expedition to get the T.V. controls.

Stupid doctors.

"We just got a call from the doctors saying that you had awoken and we immediately came down! I'm sorry I didn't stay with you, but I couldn't leave Frank all by himself! He's absolutely hopeless! He can't even make himself dinner! It's a wonder he ever survived by himself!"

She quickly came over and gingerly escorted me back to bed, without the T.V. controls I might add, and then continued blabbering.

Mothers can be so frustrating.

Michael POV:

By the time I got home, I was fully drenched, and somehow, the chills seemed to distract me from my thoughts about Mia.

Hoping that this wasn't the start of a cold, I grabbed a couple of Advil and hopped into a boiling hot shower, trying to wear away any kinds of illnesses.

I stepped out, feeling refreshed. I was warm. Mia was safe in the hospital. Life was good.

But then I felt the tickling in my nose. And all of sudden I let out a gigantic, throaty sneeze, knocking myself backward.

I snuffled, feeling my nose blocking.

Why me?

Mia POV:

So it turned out that what I had wasn't that serious; just a minor virus. Or at least that's what the doctors said.

But it's not like I can trust them anymore, on account of the fact that they never helped me when I was dying and unable to reach the T.V. control.

I bet you I'm horribly sick.

Well at least that's what it feels like. But they have given me some medicine, and claim that within 24 hours I will be feeling completely better.

Which means although I thankfully won't be sick for Christmas, I will be open to visits from Lily.

Which doesn't exactly make my day.

Because I know she will come.

Unless of course, I pretend I'm really sick and then she'll hopefully stay away because she won't want to catch whatever I have.

That could work.

Operation "Avoid Lily" has just commenced.

**AN: I'm really sorry about the lack of updates. But I want to thank EVERYONE who reviewed. You're reviews are great! And I'm sorry I can't reply to all of them right now. I guess I owe you an explanation. I've kind of been dealing with reawakened issues surrounding my aunt's suicide a couple of years ago (it's kind of hard to explain- let's just say it's complicated),combined with a couple of hellish weeks at school. These, together with other things,have taken away most of my writing time. I'm sorry for all the people I kept waiting. I know how frustrating it is! But hopefully all of that has blown over now, and the updates will come more often. Again, thanks to everyone for reviewing! Sorry I'm not replying to your reviews this time!**

**P.S.- Sorry for the short chapter!**


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